Chapter 19 – Maddie
DO NOT Whip That Out
Maddie
“YOU’RE KIDDING, RIGHT?” I was hoping I’d seen most of the craziness this job had in store for me at this point—especially considering the craziness in my own life has multiplied exponentially—but apparently the retirees at Sweet Side Apartments still have plenty up their sleeves.
And today is not the day for them to whip any of it out.
“Why would I be kidding?” Charlene, one of the newer tenants at Sweet Side Apartments seems shocked I’m not immediately agreeing to her request. “I don’t own the place. Why should I pay to replace the carpets?”
“Umm, because your dog is the reason they’re ruined?” I can’t believe I really have to spell this out. “The carpet is replaced in each unit before someone new moves in, so any damage was done by you.”
I’m a little surprised at how aggressive I sound. How confrontational. I kind of like it.
Instead of trying to be unbearably nice like I normally would, I sit up straighter, and tell her like it is. “So, no. I won’t be replacing the carpet you’ve let your dog ruin in…”—I check the file on my desk—“four months.”
“Humph.” Charlene scowls at me from where she plopped herself down in one of my clearly not-uncomfortable-enough office chairs. “Maybe I’ll just have to call your boss and tell him you’re making people live in squalor.”
“You know what?” I open the drawer to my left, fishing out one of Andy’s business cards so I can slide it across the desk. “I think that’s a brilliant idea.”
I've spent over two decades trying my best to be nice. To be agreeable. To keep the water calm and the boat steady. I’m tired of it. It’s gotten me nowhere good, and I’m done.
Everyone can freaking sink.
Being passive and afraid of upsetting anyone is what led to marrying Drake.
Deep down, I knew it was wrong. If I'd been braver—less worried of upsetting him and my parents—I would have called the wedding off.
Instead, I put other people's opinions and happiness above my own, making the worst mistake of my life.
I’m done caring what other people want and what other people think of me. Done putting their happiness above my own.
So I give the woman still glaring at me a sweet smile. "I'll send an email letting him know you'll be reaching out." I don't look away as she snatches the card up, because I don't want her to think she intimidates me.
Even if she does a little bit. I might be ready to start making changes, but a tiger can’t lose its stripes overnight. And I sure as heck won’t go from being afraid to speak up for myself to being a bad bitch in the blink of an eye.
Charlene jolts to her feet, clearly pissed. Her eyes snap to the business card before narrowing on my face. "Hopefully you have another job lined up."
I force the smile to stay on my face, doing my best to make it look as genuine as possible because I know that will piss her off more. "I guess we'll see. Have a great day."
I turn away from her, fusing both eyeballs to my computer as she continues standing in my office.
Since I'm not sure what else to do, I follow through with my threat. Opening my email, I begin to type out a message to Andy, letting him know what’s going on.
Before I can hit send, Charlene huffs angrily and spins away, stomping into the vestibule and slamming her way out of the building.
After firing off the email, I slouch in my seat, head falling back as I close my eyes and release all the air from my lungs.
I thought old people were sweet and cute and harmless.
It was one of the big draws to this job.
I assumed they'd be bringing me cookies and calling me deary, ushering in a gentler time for me.
Instead, they’re trying to drill holes through bathroom ceilings and expecting me to replace the carpet every four months.
Oh, and I can’t forget about setting cars on fire with dead bodies inside.
A dead body that thankfully didn’t end up being Eugene Goodwin. I don’t know who it was, but Mr. Goodwin finally came back from an extended trip to Italy a few days ago.
Thank God.
The police still don’t have an identity on the dead dude in the car.
They also can’t—or won’t—tell me why the car was parked in my apartment complex.
But at least I don’t have to deal with the trauma of knowing someone I saw once a month when they dropped off their rent check was turned into a charcoal briquette.
After rubbing my eyes, I check the time, and I’m a little surprised at how late in the day it is already. Well past lunch time, and while I’m not hungry—I’ve been oddly unhungry the past few days—I am unusually exhausted. The kind of tired that’s probably due to stress, anxiety…
And staying up way too late having amazing sex with the hottest man I’ve ever known.
Since I can’t take a nap, I decide to attempt a little walk. Maybe some fresh air and exercise will help me tackle the afternoon appointments I have lined up.
I flip the sign on the newly replaced—and much sturdier—door, letting everyone know I'm not in the office, before locking up and meandering up the side of the building toward the large pond sitting at the center of the complex.
From what I've heard, there used to be swans on the water.
But like most of my tenants, they didn't act right and couldn't be trusted, so the birds were re-homed.
I don’t know exactly how difficult they were, but my maintenance man says he’d much rather run off the geese himself than deal with the swans. I have to assume they were pretty big pains in the ass since Hillard is usually a reasonable kind of guy.
Reaching the edge of the water, I stop and pull in a deep breath, hoping to release the last bits of anxiety dealing with Madame Carpet Catastrophe brought on.
Unfortunately, right as I let it out, my phone starts to ring.
Peering down at the screen, I swallow hard when Andy's phone number is the one staring back at me. I knew this would happen when I sent that email, and I genuinely believed I could handle it. But now that I’m staring down the consequences of my actions, panic is trying to set in.
Taking a steadying breath, I quickly answer before I can convince myself he’s going to yell at me and start a spiral I’ll struggle to get out of. "Hey, Andy."
I’m met by a long-suffering sigh. "Why did you go and give that woman my number?"
He doesn't sound mad, so that's good.
“She wanted to complain to my boss about me not replacing her dog pee carpets.” It sounds even more stupid now that I’m saying it out loud. I don’t know where she bought her audacity, but it probably came on a pallet.
“Oh, I know. I heard all about it.” He pauses. “Right up until my phone accidentally lost service.”
That has my feet stalling out. “We can pretend to lose service when a tenant is being a pain in the butt?”
“No one can prove I didn’t actually lose service.” Andy’s answer isn’t really an answer, but I’m taking it as one.
“Good to know.” I plop down on one of the benches set along the water’s edge. “What do you want me to do about the pee carpet?”
“We’re not doing anything about it. I told her I was confident her carpet wasn’t ruined because if she’d really let her dog urinate all over the brand-new carpet in her unit, that would have put her in direct violation of her lease.
” I could swear there’s a smile in Andy’s voice when he continues.
“I also explained I’d be on site next week doing walk-throughs, so I could give her my opinion on the state of her rugs then. ”
Oh my damn. I didn’t realize how feral Andy could be. “I think you might be my new favorite person.”
“Wait until you hear what I told her about all we take into consideration when it’s time to renew a lease.
” There’s a hint of amusement in his normally dry tone.
“Let’s just say I’m guessing she won’t be giving you any more problems. I’m also guessing you’ll see a steam cleaning company outside her apartment in the next couple of days. ”
I let out a sigh of relief. Not only is my boss not mad at me, but he’s also backing me up. He didn’t say I wasn’t going to do anything. He said we wouldn’t be doing anything. Like this is a team effort.
And I’m part of the team.
Andy has sort of a quirky personality, and there have been many times I’ve wondered if he genuinely likes me. I don’t think I have to wonder anymore. “Thank you.”
“Don’t let those people walk all over you, Maddie, because they will. There’s a reason I only own one fifty-five and up complex.” He snorts. “And it’s not because they don’t make money.”
I feel even better knowing I’ve got his permission to stand up to unruly tenants. “Okay. I’ll do my best.”
“I know you will. That’s why I hired you. You were the only person I interviewed who I thought had the right personality to keep that place in line.”
I… Don’t know what to say to that. To hear Andy saw potential in me that I didn’t see myself. Makes me wonder what else I’m not seeing.
We discuss his visit next week, and I fill him in on everything I know about the car fire. After promising to update him with any news, we end our call.
I want to smile. Want to be excited over how far I’ve come in my professional life and the way I handled that woman. But like so much else, I’m caught between the good and the bad. The great and the awful.
And the awful is hanging over my head and making it impossible for me to genuinely enjoy anything. Especially since my awful is affecting Leo so much.
“What in the heck are you doing out here, girl?” Betty strolls up to me, dragging along her geriatric Pomeranian for the afternoon walk he clearly hates.
She stops beside the bench and looks over my face, angling a brow.
“You’re not wet, so you couldn’t have just drowned Charlene in the pond for complaining again. ”
“I just needed some fresh air.” I stifle a yawn.
“I was afraid I was going to fall asleep at my desk if I didn’t move around a little.
” After giving Betty’s dog a pet, I push to my feet.
“And I’d expect Charlene to be really wound up for the next week, because our conversation did not go the way she expected it to. ”
Betty snorts. “Good.” She walks alongside me as I make my way back to my office. “I heard they identified that man from the car.”
My eyes snap to her face. “Really? How did you hear that?”
Betty shrugs. “I know some people.”
“You know some people.” I say it slowly, because I’m afraid to consider exactly what she means by that. “I want you to shoot straight with me here, Betty.” I take a deep breath before asking a question I only partially want the answer to. “Is this a Mafia thing?”
Betty tips her head from side to side. “It’s not not a Mafia thing.”
I lift one hand, pressing it to my forehead. “Oh my God.”
“Don’t stress out about it. There usually aren’t any problems here. Nobody wants to shit where they eat.” Her head tilts, one eye squinting. “Or in this case, live.”
“Don’t stress out about it?” I’m not sure how she missed this, but stressing out is all I really do. “How can I not stress out about a bunch of organized crime members living on the property I manage?”
“Well it’s not all bad.” Again, Betty glances from side to side, stepping closer. “For instance, I could probably arrange for you to have some round-the-clock protection, if you know what I mean.”
I stare at her, not really believing what she’s offering. “I’m not going to be indebted to the Mob, Betty.”
Is this really what my life has become? A crazy and violent ex-husband? Parents who are pissed off at me for trying to be happy? Running a property infiltrated by mobsters and criminals?
“Technically, they owe you for disposing of one of their problems in your parking lot.” Betty lifts her chin, shoulders squaring. “And I made sure Elaine Servantes knows it.”
I don’t know who in the heck Elaine Servantes is, and I certainly don’t want to think about the Mob owing me for setting bodies on fire in one of my parking lots.
“I’m gonna have to deal with this later.
” I turn and aim myself in a different direction, because I think I’m gonna need to walk off this new information.
Betty stays put, calling after me. “Just let me know if you want me to set something up.”
I don’t respond, because what the hell do you say to an old woman offering to hook you up with Mob protection?
I’m halfway through my first lap around the property when my cell phone buzzes in my pocket.
I’m expecting it to be Leo. He’s had conditioning and practice this week, so he couldn’t come with me to work.
Luckily, Drake is still behind bars since he decided to plead not-guilty this time and they had to schedule a bail hearing, so Leo didn’t totally freak out over me coming alone.
He’s still messaging me every chance he gets, making sure I’m okay.
But when I open the message, it’s not from Leo. It’s from my mother.
There’s no text, just a bunch of links. I’m a little nervous to click on any of them since she’s not super skilled with technology, but when they keep coming, I pick one and tap it.
And my stomach drops.
I quickly scan the news article then open another link. Then another. Then another.
They’re all about Leo. About what happened at Alexis’s apartment. They’re calling him violent. Dangerous.
Aggressive.
My throat tightens and tears blur my vision. Leo is none of those things. He’s kind and thoughtful and caring and gentle.
He’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me.
And I’m the worst thing that’s ever happened to him.
Sniffling, I swipe at the tears now rolling down my face. I can’t let this happen to him. I won’t allow Leo to take the fall for one of my many mistakes.
I have to end it. Break things off. Protect him from everything lurking in my shadows. Because I love him too much to see him hurt. Too much to ruin his career. Too much to taint his name.
Too much to keep him.